UK attractions lost 70% of visitors in 2020

One ‘Shakespeare’ attraction saw a 99% fall in visits

Washed up: the UK’s leading attraction in 2020 was Tate Modern on the south bank of the Thames in London (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Visitor numbers to Britain’s top attractions fell by 70 per cent in 2020 compared with a year earlier – with one London tourist site experiencing a slump of 96 per cent.

The Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (Alva) reports that 2020 had a “very strong start” for its members due to an increase in overseas visitors. But as coronavirus took hold, attractions were closed. As the first wave of infection abated, unequal rules in different parts of the UK meant not all were able to reopen at the same time.

The total number of visits to almost 300 Alva sites in 2020 was 45.4 million, compared with 151.3 million a year earlier.

The three most-visited attractions in the UK were “big hitter” museums in London: Tate Modern (1.43 million), Natural History Museum (1.3 million) and the British Museum (1.28 million).

Fourth place went to Kew Gardens (1.27 million visits) in west London.

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With tourist numbers to the capital at their lowest for decades, for the first time the top 10 includes visitor attractions outside London – both of them outdoors.

Chester Zoo moved up eight places to sixth with 1.18 million visits. In seventh – up 21 places – was the RHS Garden Wisley in Surrey. Other outdoor attractions made huge leaps to dominate the lower part of the top 20. 

Horniman Museum and Gardens in south London leapt 29 places to 12th with 606,000 visits; Whipsnade Zoo was up 45 places to 13th with 550,000; Longleat moved 20 places higher to 14th with 495,000; Westonbirt, the National Arboretum climbed 51 places to 15th with 485,000; and Attingham Park climbed from 77th to 16th with 484,000.

Attractions related to William Shakespeare were particularly hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Shakespeare’s Globe in London and the playwright’s birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon lost 85 per cent of visitors. Mary Arden’s farm, where Shakespeare’s mother lived, received only 597 visitors all year – down 99 per cent.

In Scotland, Edinburgh Castle suffered an 87 per cent fall and lost its perennial first place to Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (452,000 visitors).

The slump at Royal Museums Greenwich, including the Cutty Sark, the National Maritime Museum and the Royal Observatory, was 96 per cent.

Bernard Donoghue, director of Alva, said: “Our annual figures for 2020 reflect what a devastatingly hard year the attractions sector and the wider visitor economy faced.

“Tourism is the UK’s fifth biggest industry and, as these figures show, was hit first, hit hardest and will take the longest to recover.”

He questioned the Government’s decision to open non-essential retail before indoor attractions, and called for a new bank holiday for 2021 to “help the tourism industry repair our balance sheets”.

Some gardens are already open; other outdoor attractions may open partially on 12 April; and indoor sites can open on 17 May.

Top 10 visitor attractions 2020

1. Tate Modern
2. Natural History Museum
3. British Museum
4. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
5. National Gallery
6. Chester Zoo
7. RHS Garden Wisley
8. V&A South Kensington
9. Science Museum
10. Somerset House